Pilot Sponsorship Scheme

[z114d]

HI all,

am looking for Pilot Sponsorship Scheme, i have no experience for flying but am looking to do my PPL aswell my self.

can any one help the best way to go about training to be an pilot or Pilot Sponsorship Scheme around the north west or uk?

[99jolegg]

There are very few sponsored schemes around now - schemes that guarantee employment, even less so.

Some institutions like FTE, OAA and Cabair have mentored schemes every now and again. Selection for these is tough and roughly 2-5% of initial applicants will get through to training. As far as I'm aware, part of the cost resides with yourself and part with the airline (generally at the later stages of training) for these schemes. If you meet the exacting standards and a position is available in the airline then on completion of training, you'll be offered employment. It isn't guaranteed, however.

Alternatively, CTC Wings Cadets are sponsored by one of their partner airlines. CTC say they've had a 100% employment rate from their Wings Cadets. Their finance information can be found here:

http://www.ctcwings.co.uk/cadets/finance.asp

You fund the security bond through personal finance or a loan from HSBC (unsecured), giving monthly installments to a CTC subsidiary. Whilst employed by an airline, the bond is transferred to the airline and you pay back the installments each month from money given (in one form or another) from the airline.

[z114d]

thanks you for your reply

am sure my finance record will not give a bond out. dont you know of any that will do a full spondsorship?

[The African Dude]

Do a search and have a good read of the forum first, but if you still don't find it you can always call up Air Atlantique at Coventry. Somebody may correct me if I'm wrong but I think you need a PPL to be considered.

[SpamFritters]

Although there is talk that BA are starting up one again at some point... there really isn't anything out there... that doesn't require you to pay back etc etc. you will struggle to find sponsorship if you have no flying experience and low qualifications too..

Maybe you need to decide whether you are getting into flying for the right reasons.... and a PPL isn't cheap either!

[99jolegg]

dont you know of any that will do a full spondsorship?

I don't know of any that'll pay for everything. Why should an airline bear the cost when there are plenty of wannabe cadets willing to do it themselves?

[z114d]

thats true, am thinking of doing a PPL at LAC in manchester barton. but i was thinking at the same time if i could get an sponsorship scheme along the way.

thanks#

[combineharvester]

As far as I am aware:

Atlantic Airlines run a cadetship, you work in Operations for a while alongside your theoretical training, after gaining your licence you are rated on one of their fleets and bonded for about 5 years.

Highland Airways also run their cadetship in a pretty much identical fashion to Atlantic.

Aeros Flight Training run (or did run) a slightly different scheme. Same principle, Operations work during training (PPL with ATPL theory distance learning + hour building) then full time CPL/IR training. An MCC is not part of the package so you will have to fund that yourself, however at the end of your training you are bond free.

Apart from these rumours of a BA sponsorship programme being on the cards that is pretty much it for the UK.

[BitMoreRightRudder]

The days of an airline paying for every penny of your training and bearing the whole financial risk should you screw up are long gone.

Chances are 99.9% that you will have to pay tens of thousands for your licence. If you do it for 40k and manage to get an airline to cover the rest you have done extremely well.

If that puts you off then I wouldn't bother going any further with this!

[hingey]

If you have a PPL and a driving license you can apply to Air Atlantique (RVL), Highland Airways and Atlantic Airlines. With all schemes, you are pot up in a house and work for the company in a variety of tasks (anything from ops to cleaning, driving and decorating), normally for 12- 18 months during which time you are studying for your written exams, before you start flight training. Then they give you a job on their respective fleets, all funded by the company.

With Highland I think you end up on a 406 or a Jetstream, RVL put you on one of their many twins (404, 406, Islander etc) but if you want to fly an airliner you're probably better off with Airlines who put you on the ATP or Electra. All schemes are hard work, but you don't have to keep signing away 10's of thousands of pounds to an FTO every other week.

h

[RogerUK]

Hi all,

In my never ending search for flying sponsorships, grants and the like, I came across Pilot Academy. Anyone hear of them before??

They appear to offer full sponsorship for a fATPL. They are not accepting applications at the moment for new sponsorships, but you can register your interest and they will email you when they do. Worth a try I suppose? :)

www.pilotacademy.co.uk

Appreciate any thoughts,

Roger

[airbandit]

That program seems to be cool :) ,however, it's strange that I never before heard anything about it.:sad:

Has anyone any experience about selection and the whole program?

[Re-Heat]

Never heard of it before - established in September 2007 - the directors listed at Companies House are David Dhawan and Omar Couri, both aged 27.

Company address is 33 Kingsbury Road, London, NW9 7HY - a residential address off the A5 in North West London.

Note that they mention: "4.9 Candidate’s fee for attending the psychometric assessment centre of has to be paid before the date of the assessment centre. In order to be eligible for a refund, the Candidate must give the Company one week notice before the assessment centre date. In all other circumstances, this fee is non-refundable, including not being able to attend." This appears to be £150 to be paid before the assessment.

I would question where two 27 year-olds living in suburban London have funds to sponsor a £60k course, but let's see...

[smith]

There was a scheme a few years ago similar to this ,where you paid a selection fee and I think one or two candidates got sent to Jerez for the intigrated course. It was a bit of a scam because there were literally thousands of applicants, it really was a lottery with each ticket costing £180 pounds or so.

I think the plan was to sell enough "tickets" to more than cover costs and provide a tidy return. After much to and fro-ing and stalling a candidate did eventually get sent to Jerez. There was a name for the scheme but I can't remember it for now. Just be very wary of schemes like this as there will be a catch somewhere, noone is going to give you an fATPL for £150, these guys are trying to make money out of you somehow.

[danmcdermott]

99jolegg: Here's why airlines should take the cost - BECAUSE this is the only profession where trainees have to bloody pay for it. The government should be paying for it and it's exactly the attitude you expressed that stops that from happening.

[superjet777]

Smith,
I think you be right there. They don't need that many applicants to pay the £150 to cover the 'administration costs' and pay for a £60,000 flying course. It doesn't say how may of these sponsorships they are giving out...

As for the rest of the money taken? Trip to the Aston Martin garage coming up!

[BerksFlyer]

99jolegg: Here's why airlines should take the cost - BECAUSE this is the only profession where trainees have to bloody pay for it. The government should be paying for it and it's exactly the attitude you expressed that stops that from happening.
If the Government paid for pilot training then why should they not pay for University, which is a prerequisite for many professions that are as highly skilled as being a pilot.

And can you not imagine how many applicants there would be if pilot training costed nothing? It would allow people who do not want it bad enough to take such a financial risk that is currently needed to apply. People who would otherwise not even consider being pilots would take jobs away from those who have always wanted it and would be willing to do whatever it takes.

It is also not the only profession where money is needed although it is maybe one of the most expensive. But as I said, this acts as a brilliant filter to those who would do it on a whim.

Also, seeing as pilots work in the private sector, not the public sector it is incredibly unlikely that the Government would even consider funding pilot training in any way.

This current Government is so incapable of handling tax revenue that it is in a £9 billion tax defecit. As if it's going to blow a few more billion on pilot training :rolleyes:

Think about things before you try to shoot someone down.

[preduk]

Berks,

They do pay for University though (in Scotland anyway), they don't only pay for it, they give you a nice bursary every year also!

I'm going to be contacting the Scottish Education Minister this year to find out why they wont pay for the ATPL theory courses within Scotland, especiall with colleges such as Glasgow Nautical doing this course.

[airbandit]

It is intresting that in Lithuania we have a unique opportunity to become pilot. 5 year studying in the aviation institue gives you almost free fATPL :) for almost 300 pounds per year you can cover your practical flying and theory :). However, I think it is better to find good aviation school in UK than to study in Lithuania :)

[BerksFlyer]

They do pay for University though (in Scotland anyway), they don't only pay for it, they give you a nice bursary every year also!

I'm going to be contacting the Scottish Education Minister this year to find out why they wont pay for the ATPL theory courses within Scotland, especiall with colleges such as Glasgow Nautical doing this course.

I'm fully aware of this. They pay for your school meals aswell in Scotland I believe. However in England it's all very different. The universities can't wait to fail people so that more tuition fees and accomodation fees have to be paid. It's a huge repellent for me to go to uni (the money hindrance) seeing as I've always wanted to be a pilot and this is just one of the many reasons why not to go. Pathetic really seeing as Brown wants 50% to attend uni in the future. Why not make uni free in England aswell!? He's a farce.

Just as a passing thought - If I were to go to, say, Edinburgh for university, would I qualify for the bursaries and would it all be paid for me considering I'm English?

I'm sure if you got free ATPL theory up in Scotland, all of us student pilots would rush up north of the border :}

[airbandit]

Well in Lithuania we have intresting and very cool thing. Govermant pays for your studies. So flying and theory costs only 300 pounds per year. After 5 years you finnish aviation institute and fATPL is yours, however, I think that it is better to find good aviation school in UK, pay for studies than to study in Lithuania.

[preduk]

Berks,

Yes I believe so, if you move up here you will get what the Scottish Government offers because you are a British Citizen, we see hundreds upon thousands of elderly people moving to Scotland because of things like free gym passes, free transport, free care which you don't get in England. They will only pay for school meals under a certain age, if your parents meet a certain criteria.

I'm currently leaving uni, as my degree is no over but I was recieving £1,750 to cover my Uni fees and £3,800 to cover my living expenses from Sept until May plus all my travel expenses can be claimed back.

Again this deppends on your income, if you live on your own etc but I ended up earning more money than I would have done working full time as I had a part time job also.

I'm currently a member of the minority government party in Scotland, and hope to put a case forward to them about this.

[danmcdermott]

They pay for uni in England and Wales as well. £3070 which a student pays is actually just a contribution. The LSC and DIUS pays for the rest. They also pay for ATC (partly), shipping officers, etc. So why not pilots (which are cheaper than Doctors and Shipping officers). Yes the financial risks stop people coming in on a whim but they also stop those from working class backgrounds like myself. Thankfully I've got on to FTE which means I'm going to be just about able to get myself through. But as I say - flying is one profession that hasn't been allowed to move with the times - in the past only the rich or those willing to risk thousands could go to uni. This has changed - pilot training hasn't.

[BerksFlyer]

dan,

I bet that at least 90% of people who train to become a professional pilot do not have the money so they either have to work for it, or get a loan. So I don't think that anyone is really disadvantaged money-wise. Sure it would be easier if we all had 40-60k sat in our back pockets but we simply don't. I'm still convinced that the risk in itself offsets people who would do it on a whim more so than it stops the disadvantaged from getting their licences.

preduk,

Thats good, glad to see that it isn't shut off from us English!

[RogerUK]

Thanks for your thoughts Re-heat / Smith,

regardless of the possible sponsorship, do you think its worth £150 for sitting a prof psychometric assessment to gain experience?

I've looked into balpa, gapan (£175) and even flight training organisations charge for psychometric tests before being taken on, CTC wings with easyjet sponsorship applicants (£140+VAT), Oxford aviation (£125), Cabair (£100+VAT).....

When comparing £150 to the average cost in the industry at the moment, it seems reasonable....

I've used a few free open source tests on the internet, but I don't think its the same as sitting in a class room being tested.

[99jolegg]

99jolegg: Here's why airlines should take the cost - BECAUSE this is the only profession where trainees have to bloody pay for it. The government should be paying for it and it's exactly the attitude you expressed that stops that from happening.

I didn't express an attitude, I expressed a *possible* attitude taken by the airlines.

[danmcdermott]

sorry! :\:uhoh: